Making room for elephants

'Win-win situation'

Farina believes the best way to protect the animals is by creating "elephant corridors" — pathways through plantations connecting patches of habitat.

She is hoping to convince seven plantations in the area that elephants are "an ecological reality, rather than an occasional disturbance".

But it will be a challenge.

Fierce competition driven by tight, volatile margins means many producers are not keen to sacrifice land for corridors, said Muhammad Al Shafieq bin Mustafa, a former plantation manager in Sukau and now a palm oil industry specialist.